The Little Runaway
by DucksFan1510
Summary: 11 year old, Cato Akers, is forced to watch his older brother battle in the 71st Hunger Games. Cato knew that the victor of the Hunger Games was supposed to be honored. But when things don't go his way he gets scared. Knowing he will have to volunteer to fight in the Games eventually, he runs from his District and is found by the most unexpected people. But no where is safe forever


**So I've been a big fan of the Hunger Games and Cato and I know that he's not in them anymore but I'm still going to write this one up. So this is the intro chapter. Enjoy**

**Chapter 1**

Cato sat at home with his head buried in the couch. His brother had just been reaped for the 71st Hunger Games. His older brother was leaving him alone now. What if he never came home? But he would. That's what his brother, Hunter, had told him. Cato had always feared the day that Hunter would leave and go into the arena to battle the others. Hunter had always made him watch the Games with him and he'd enjoyed watching with his brother. How he'd explain what everyone was planning. And then he'd told Cato that one day, both of them would be able to bring honor to District 2 by volunteering for the Games. Cato had thought it had been cool back then. Of course he wanted to be in the Games. But now that his brother was going into the arena, it wasn't so great. Even though Hunter had promised to come back, he was still nervous about it. He'd just said goodbye this afternoon and now he felt sick. He would never leave his seat on the couch. He'd watch every moment of his brother. He didn't want to miss his brother's victory.

The interviews and introductions were always kind of boring in Cato's opinion. All the tributes just talked about how excited they were to win. But now, his eyes never left the screen. He watched the famous, Caesar Flickerman jump around on the stage and make the crowd absolutely love each tribute. He decided to do what his brother did, and analyze the tributes as they talked. He could almost hear his brother talking to him as he watched each one. District 1's tribute came up. Cato didn't care about names. He just watched as the older boy talked about becoming victorious over everyone else. How prepared he was to fight. What was so great about saying all of that? Everyone was supposed to be prepared to fight. Cato would start his training in a few weeks after the Games ended. No one should not be prepared to fight.

Then his brother walked up on stage and Cato watched as he took a seat across from the host. Cato almost leaned into the television to make sure he could see.

"So Hunter, what kind of chance do you think you have in the Games, if I may ask?"

"You can. And I'm ready. I'll fight. There's nothing stopping me from getting back home. I'm confident that I'll be getting back."

"Do you have someone special waiting for you back there?"

Cato stared at his brother. _You have me_, he thought. But Hunter didn't say that. He didn't mention them at all.

"Nope. Haven't found them yet. Haven't really concentrated on it. Of course, after I win, it won't be that hard to find someone special."

"You're right about that, Hunter! Ladies and gentleman! Hunter Akers!"

Cato watched his older brother wave to the crowd and then walk off stage. It was almost as bad as seeing him leave the district again. More tributes came and went. He focused on putting them in categories. District 4 would most likely team up with his brother. They were ok. District 5, no one cared about. Same with Districts 6,7,8,9,10,11, and 12. Well that's what his brother had told him. He said that the other districts were just there for the powerful ones to kill. Which seemed true. District 12 had one victor and that was it. Most of the others had a few but it was nothing compared to how many Districts 1,2, and 4 had. Even 3 had a good amount.

Cato had to stop focusing on the television as his thoughts drifted to the Victor's Village. Would they move in there after Hunter won? He'd like it if they could. Their house was nice but it was nothing compared to the mansions they had in the Victor's Village. He could already see his room. It would be covered in weapons that he could train with. And he'd definitely keep the posters of his brother and his favorite Victors on the walls. He'd have a balcony that he could walk out on every morning and eat his breakfast. He'd love it there.

He turned his thoughts back to the television. The District 10 girl tribute was getting interviewed. She looked scared out of her mind. Cato snorted. At least if he got picked, he wouldn't look that stupid. He'd stand there confidently and smile. He'd joke with the crowd and Caesar Flickerman. He'd get all the sponsors. That girl, she wouldn't get any. He pictured himself standing where the girl stood now. If only the crowd could see how amazing he'd be. He would be able to get anything he wanted from his sponsors. He'd sit on top of the Cornucopia in a throne, with the tributes from Districts 2 and 4 surrounding him. Gifts from sponsors would come raining down on him. He wouldn't even have to move.

The final interview was up. The boy from District 12. Hunter always made jokes about the District's tributes. _If you want to see a sad choice of tributes, you should watch the reaping for District 12. All of the people there wear clothes that are about ten times too big for them. And half of them look like they've been dragged behind a car for miles._ Cato laughed at the thought. The boy did look like he'd been dragged behind a car. He was the skinniest human being he'd ever seen. He was crying too and Cato felt bad for the boy. Any person that was making a fool out of themselves on live television was definitely in for a rough ride. And this guy was doing exactly that. Oh well, one more tribute for his brother to kill. That's what Cato wanted to watch. He wanted to see his brother come out on top of the rest of them. He wanted to see Hunter stand on top of each of his victims and cut their heads off. All of the weak tributes that didn't even deserve to be in the Games. They could all die. And he would enjoy watching it.

The broadcast was almost over for the night and he realized that he would miss watching it. It almost felt like his brother was right there with him. When the interviews were over and the television switched over to a different show, he shut it off. The tributes got two days of training and then the final day of private skills. The scores would be announced that night.

Cato left the room and headed to his bedroom where posters of his victors hung on the walls. Right in the middle of his wall was Hunter's favorite from District 1. He was the male tribute three years ago, Gloss. Cato thought it was a stupid name but the guy did have a lot of fighting talent. There were several pictures of him on the walls. He also had a picture of District 2's winner from six years ago. His name was Brutus and he was crazy good. The Games lasted about three days and then they were over. Brutus had killed them all in three days. He scanned the rest of the room, looking for a place to hang his brother's picture. His eyes came to rest on a spot that was open on the far side of his room. It was right next to a smaller picture. He squinted at the picture and realized it was the only Victor from District 12. Why did he have that one in here? He wasn't fond of any Districts except 1, 2, and 4. He had winners from other Districts too though. He had one of Finnick Odair who had just won four years ago but he was from District 4. Cato only liked him because Finnick had won at age fourteen. He was the youngest person to ever win the Games. Just three years older than Cato was now. Fourteen. Cato wanted to be just like Finnick but he knew some older kid would volunteer in his place. No one would trust him at fourteen.

He turned to his bed and lied down. He didn't even realize how tired he was until he was lying down. Usually his brother would be sleeping in the bed across from him but now he was alone. His other brother, Alexander, hadn't made it through the Games. But he hadn't been as confident as Hunter had. And Alex had only been sixteen. Younger than most Careers. That's what the high Districts called their tributes. Alex had been in the Hunger Games right before Finnick won. Hunter would make it because Hunter had promised he would make it. He wouldn't end up like Alex. He would come back. With that thought, he shut his eyes and went to sleep.

**Thanks for reading guys! Favorite or Follow please?! Reviews would be great! **


End file.
